The 20-year-old Hangzhou Museum is calling for donations – not only from those who were born and bred in the city, or those who are studying and working in Hangzhou, but anyone who has concern and love for this scenic and cultural city in East China’s Zhejiang province.
A folding fan made of peacock feathers with original case and wrap, a commodity sold at the Wangxingji Fan Store, a time-honoured local trademark of Hangzhou during the Republic of China (1912-49). From the collection of the Hangzhou Museum. Photo – Hangzhou Museum archive ©
The museum is planning to solicit objects and certificates that can reflect local people’s lifestyles, bear strong cultural marks, or document major development and construction projects in the city over the past 110 years. Examples were posted on the museum’s official WeChat account on Oct 8, including old photos of local residents, university enrollment certificates, bills and notes, family correspondence, photos documenting city views or significant events in former times, old furniture, daily utensils, and archives.
The solicitation campaign, according to the official announcement, will last for 10 years and will be carried out in phases. The first phase is scheduled to last from now until Feb 13, 2022.
Hangzhou is home to three World Heritage sites – the Grand Canal, West Lake, and Liangzhu Ruins site – and was the capital of China’s Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). A plethora of cultural legacies crown the city as a cultural metropolis in the true sense.
The predecessor of the Hangzhou Museum was the Hangzhou History Museum, founded and opened to the public in 2001. In 2012, the Hangzhou History Museum has renamed the Hangzhou Museum, with a founding collection of nearly 10,000 items. Located in the West Lake scenic area, it has a sincere and honest mission of becoming a cultural facility for ordinary people.
There will be an established procedure for participating in the solicitation campaign, from submitting donation requests to bringing the donation to the museum for further examination and evaluation, as well as signing agreements and receiving a donation certificate.
